One important goal of contemporary auditory neuroscience is to understand the changes in the central nervous system that follow deafness. Since interventions, such as cochlear implants, work on a nervous system that has had long-lasting deafness, it is important to understand the possible changes in the makeup of these surviving cells so as to optimize such interventions. A fruitful model system for exploring these changes has been the brain stem auditory system of the chick. Deafness results in rapid changes in avian cochlear nucleus neurons and the eventual death of 20-30% of these neurons. Rapid changes (within hours) are observed in specific proteins within these neurons. The proposed research seeks to further define the protein changes in cochlear nucleus neurons in the early hours following deafness. This will lead to a greater understanding of the competing death and survival mechanisms engaged in these neurons and may help develop targeted interventions to promote the survival of neurons. In addition, long-term adjustments to deafness will be evaluated in cells that survive this insult. Finally, the proposed research will investigate proteins that specifically interact with the ribosomes of deafened cochlear nucleus neurons that may contribute to the ultimate demise of these cells. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Deafness results in the death of neurons in the central nervous system. This process involves changes in proteins that contribute to competing death and survival pathways. This project will identify proteins involved in these pathways and specifically proteins that may be involved in ribosomal dysfunction. This may lead to targeted interventions that could promote neuronal survival in a number of conditions, such as neurodegenerative disease, as well as following deafness.